LASIK Efficacy

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While the numbers and statistics are somewhat variable, the Medical Defence Union (the largest insurer for doctors the United Kingdom) has reported one statistic citing a 166% increase in claims involving laser vision correction. This was an interesting finding, given the higher level of precision, accuracy and customization of the LASIK procedure. However, upon further investigation, it was discovered that a large majority of these claims were directly linked to patients' unrealistic expectations, versus surgeon errors. As it turned out, the glowing testaments of millions of LASIK patients may have painted a bit of a biased portrayal of the procedure.

Perhaps more reliable figures are from a 2003 study published in the medical journal "Ophthalmology", where it was discovered that 18% of patients and 12% of treated eyes needed some form of retreatment. In 2006, a popular online medical journal reported that people wearing contact lens have a greater risk of overall infection that those undergoing LASIK surgery (1 in 100 for contact lens wearers, versus 1 in 2000 for LASIK patients). Furthermore, the risk for developing an infection that could seriously detriment the integrity of your vision is 1 in 10,000 for LASIK patients.

For the most part, LASIK has been proven to be a very successful surgery that leaves millions upon million of patients seeing more clearly without the aid of glasses or contact lenses. If you're concerned about the efficacy of LASIK, consider talking about this with your LASIK surgery and see what his or her personal statistics for success are, as related to the broad facts.